Shadowy
Men: Now (August 2-8, 1990)
"Shadowy Men cut cool debut"

Shadowy
Men on a Shadowy Planet, Savvy Show Stoppers (Cargo) Rating: NNNN

Surfer
rock trio Shadowy Men, an ambiguous, faceless and fun band on
the local scene, have come a long way in a short time. Once merely
a novelty act, with their instrumental screeches and marked similarities
to 60s outfits like the Ventures, they slowly built up credibility,
became better players, expanded their stable of original songs
and emerged with a sense of identity all their own.

And
nowhere is the metamorphosis from still band to serious band with
silly sensibilities more apparent than on the group's first long-player,
Savvy Show Stoppers, a singles compilation LP including their
most famous track, the theme from TV comedy show The Kids in the
Hall.

Campy,
fast, rough and irreverent, Show Stoppers is exactly like seeing
the band live, only with better sound. One half expects Frankie
and Annette to come bounding through the living room. Yet there's
an inexplicable and unyielding appeal to the garish moan of an
electric guitar and the brutish pluck of the bass. Members Reid
Diamond, Brian Connelly, and Donald Pyle come off sounding absolutely
sincere, even though they probably hate hearing that. This is
really great, spontaneous, unpretentious party music.